Grape Wine

INGREDIENTS:

v  Black or Red Grapes - 5 kg

v  Sugar- 2 1/2 kg

v  Water - 2 1/2 litres

v  Yeast - 1/2 of Baker`s Yeast or any good wine yeast

METHOD:

v  Firstly, make sure the jar or the container used for wine making is cleaned well and sanitized. Porcelain jars or earthen pots are ideal. However, for those who cannot find a pot or jar, can go for an air tight bucket too.

v  Wash the grapes well. Try to get fresh grapes to make good quality wine.

v  Put the grapes in the jar or the container and crush them well so that the fleshy part of the grapes is well separated from the skin to extract the juice out of it.

v  Once the grapes are well crushed, keep it closed for sometime.

v  Meantime, boil water in a pan and add the sugar. Stop boiling once the sugar is completely dissolved in the water and let it cool.

v  To this, add 1/2 a packet of good quality yeast, preferably wine yeast and stir the mixture well with sanitized wooden spoon.

v  Close the jar or the container tightly and keep it aside for 3 weeks for fermentation.

v  Stir the contents every alternate day and check if the sweetness of the solution has lessened.

v  Once the sweetness is almost gone, sieve the contents using a muslin cloth. Make sure the sediments are not disturbed while straining out the contents.

v  To the sieved solution, add 1/2 kg sugar caramel and let it set for another 2 weeks. Do not open the jar during this period. The sugar caramel solution is added for extra color.

v  After 2 weeks, open the jar and transfer the contents to glass bottles with corks tops or air tight tops.